Hebrews 11
SCRIPTURE:
Hebrews 11:4-12, 39-40 4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. 7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith. 8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she[b] considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. 39- 40 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. A life without faith is a life directed by oneself. What is faith? In verse one, faith is described as the “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” OBSERVATION and APPLICATION: Hebrews 11 is filled with examples of lives that were moved by faith like Abel who followed God’s word and by faith was commended as righteous and spoke in death, Noah who accepted God’s word, won God’s approval and by faith, he condemned the world and became righteous that is in keeping with the faith, Abraham who went to a place he was unfamiliar with that would later become his inheritance, obeyed God and by faith, made his home in the promised land and Sarah who was past the childbearing age was able to bear children because she knew by faith that God intended to fulfil his promise. Through faith, they were provided with the plans of God. The plan of God provides assurance and security. His plan is better than the plan that they had intended for themselves. God blessed those who responded in obedience. Their faith enabled them to hear God’s voice and listen to his instructions. Without faith, they would have not experienced the plans and promises God had prepared for them. Through faith, they were given the desire to actively seek God and through faith, they were moved to continue the journey to learn more about him. Faith is the foundation of our relationship with God. Without faith, we are either unaware of the uncertainties in life, or we are overanalyzing, overestimating, overthinking everything that happens within our lives. Without faith, we are consumed and overwhelmed by fear. For faith is believing in what is not seen, by putting our full trust in God, we are embracing his plans, he leads us forward and we live a life in the direction of God. Our faith is constantly being challenged by unpredictable situations that can distance ourselves away from God. These uncertain times can either build or break our faith. To strengthen our faith we must realign our focus on God, and through this, we may receive the promises of our faithful God. What about you? How do you want to face each day of your life, do you want to live in fear or do you want to walk by faith? PRAYER: Dear Lord, may you open our hearts and strengthen our faith so that we desire to seek your presence every day. I pray that through faith our desire to know you will flourish. May you give us the knowledge to encourage and motivate those around us to build their faith so we may all learn the promises of the Lord. As we are faced with life challenges, let us not lose our faith, instead, I pray that we may overcome and abandon our doubts and worries and fix our eyes on you who is the author and perfecter of our faith. Without you Lord we are nothing and for you alone knows what is truly best for us. We thank you, Lord, that you remained faithful in spite of our unfaithfulness. Your faithfulness extends beyond the limits of time and space. May we walk and live in the centre of your will and may our faith continue to grow as we soak ourselves in Your presence. We love you and we praise you, In Jesus name, Amen.
